|
|
|
|
|
|
The men were close upon him now, and the foremost tumbled down to his knees. Ian could see his body heaving even in the dim light. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The leuedy! The leuedy!" the kneeling man gasped. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ian went cold. There was only one "lady" in Roselynde. Something had happened to Alinor. Had John, with that sudden unpredictability of his, arrived at Roselynde? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Take hold of yourself, man," Ian said harshly in English. "Speak slow. Tell me what has befallen the lady." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alinor had visited two fishing villages and was well satisfied with the result of her efforts. The headmen had assured her that if they could not arrange to remove any messenger headed for Roselynde from the boat he had hired, they would mark where the boat came ashore. Whether they would attempt to take him themselves, seek the help of the innkeeper of Roselynde Town or the help of the huntsmen would depend upon circumstances. In any case, they assured her, no messenger would reach Roselynde Keep from the sea. They would pass the word along and warn all the other fisherfolk up and down the coast. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The light was failing by the time Alinor and her men were on the road home, but she expected to reach Roselynde before full dark without trouble. Absorbed in her own thoughts and not particularly alert, because she was in the very heart of her own holding, Alinor did not notice the troop of men that emerged from the little wood. She continued to ride toward them until the group moved to block the road. Then one of her men cried a warning just as Alinor herself pulled sharply on her reins. Almost before she had completed the movement, she comprehended the trap into which she had fallen. The men coming toward her could not be her people. |
|
|
|
|
|